Interview With Kat Feller of “High School Reunion”

TV Land’s new reality show, High School Reunion, which premierestonight, reunites classmates from a Texas highschool 20 years later in a beautiful Mauisetting. The show brings together the grown-up versions of various typical highschool identities such as "the jock," "the popular girl"and "the bully," as well as identities that emerged some time afterhigh school, including "the lesbian," embodied by Kat Feller.

Now an animation voice-overactor who lives in the Los Angelesarea, Feller dated boys during high school but considered herself a closetedlesbian who was never able to truly be herself with her classmates. In thefirst episode, she comes out to her former classmates and shares details of herlesbian life since graduation. But Feller also reveals another motive forjoining the reunion: She’s thinking about dating men again and wants to exploreher bi-curious side with her old classmates.

She recently talked withAfterEllen.com about how it felt to come out her classmates, going on a datewith the most popular boy in school, and who she had a crush on back in the’80s.

AfterEllen.com: You’re identified on the show as"the lesbian." You say on the show that you really bloomed after highschool when you started living as a lesbian. When was that?Kat Feller: I came out tomy family about a year after I was actually out to my self. And that was aboutat the age of 21. … Maybe two or three years after high school I started identifyingwith it and understanding exactly the way I was feeling and knowing that I’dhad these feelings for a really long time. I mean, elementary school long time.But just being too scared to even think about what was going through my head.

AE: Early on in the series you come out to yourclassmates, and then very soon after that you tell them you are interested inexploring dating men again. Can you tell us about that decision?KF: Over the years as I’vegotten older, I’ve become a little bit more open. In my 20s, I was anti-man andthat sort of thing. I think men are great as people and beautiful as people. Iam physically way more drawn to women still and I know that I always will be,but part of me doesn’t want to be so closed off — but I also can’t see myselfbeing with a man long-term. I don’t even feel like I’d be comfortable going ona true date with a guy.

To be honest with you, it makes me a littleuncomfortable just to think about it, because it’s just so foreign. But itmakes me a little bit curious because it has been so long since I’ve been on adate with a guy, so as I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten just really curious to seewhat it would be like to go on a date with a guy. So that’s where that cameabout.

Coming out to my classmates on TV and finallygetting to come out to them 20 years after the fact was an amazing experiencefor me, as far as that goes. It was like a huge weight was lifted off myshoulders. It felt really, really good to be myself.

AE: Among your women classmates, was there anyonewhose reaction to your coming out really surprised you?KF: You know what? Out ofall the women who were there who I confessed to or told my secret to, everysingle one of them were completely supportive, excited actually, like "Oh,really?" Very inquisitive. They were like, "Tell us about it."

It was funny because when everyone was talkingabout their relationships, they were like, "My boyfriend does this, myboyfriend does that," and I was like, "Yeah, I’ve been in arelationship for the last five years." And they were like, "What doeshe do?" And I’m thinking, "Why does it always have to be a he?"I was like, "She,"and they were like, "Whoa!" They were all surprised a little bit, butnot in a negative way.

It was very positive. Never once did I get anegative response at all. Honest. It made me feel really comfortable the wholeshow. It was nice.